Balanced and dangerous, Witt offense tough to stop

Tigers averaging 39.1 points per game as they head into today’s playoff clash with Trine.

$Wittenberg junior running back Corey Weber (right) gets a hand inside the face mask of the College of Mount St. Joseph freshman defensive back Jerrick Boykin during an NCAA Division III first-round playoff football game \uFEFFNov. 21 at Edwards-Maurer Field. The Tigers won 42-14. Weber recently was named to the All-North Coast Athletic Conference first team. Staff photo by Barbara J. Perenic$

Barbara J. Perenic Wittenberg junior running back Corey Weber (right) gets a hand inside the face mask of the College of Mount St. Joseph freshman defensive back Jerrick Boykin during an NCAA Division III first-round playoff football game \uFEFFNov. 21 at Edwards-Maurer Field. The Tigers won 42-14. Weber recently was named to the All-North Coast Athletic Conference first team. Staff photo by Barbara J. Perenic

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By David Jablonski, Staff Writer Updated 5:23 PM Saturday, November 28, 2009

SPRINGFIELD — Andy Mitchel doesn’t run the most complicated offense in the country, but he does run one of the best, a unit ranked 14th in the nation in scoring.

Mitchel, the Wittenberg football team’s fourth-year offensive coordinator, said the Tigers could probably run the trendy Wildcat offense made famous by the Miami Dolphins. Why would they, though, when senior quarterback Aaron Huffman is so effective running the ball?

The Tigers have some fun plays, but that’s not what makes them successful.

“We try to adjust the simple looks we have and out-execute people,” Mitchel said. “To be able to do that, your personnel has got to be good. In my experience, when you go out and try to out-scheme the defense every play, generally, personnel-wise, you don’t match up very well.”

Wittenberg (11-0) averages 39.1 points per game and has surpassed 41 points in its last four games. That streak will be tested by Trine University (10-1) in the second round of the NCAA Division III playoffs at noon today, Nov. 28, at Edwards-Maurer Field.

All season, Wittenberg’s defense, ranked No. 1 in the nation, has gotten the majority of the attention. The offense, however, has been just as steady.

Mitchel doesn’t mind not getting much publicity, but sometimes he feels for his players. Most of them lack the eye-popping numbers you’d expect from such an explosive offense. For example, Wittenberg’s top two receivers, sophomores Michael Cooper and Josh McKee, failed to receive even an honorable mention in All-North Coast Athletic Conference voting.

“If you look at us stats-wise, we’ve got good stats,” Mitchel said. “But we don’t have a 1,000-yard receiver. We don’t have a guy with 100 catches. Part of that is we’re balanced.”

Wittenberg gains 50.3 percent of its yards through the air and 49.7 on the ground.

All Mitchel cares about is the “W,” but he does have his eyes on certain numbers that point the way toward victory.

“The important things I look at are our completion percentage, our third downs, what kind of production we’re getting on first down,” said Mitchel, an all-conference wide receiver at Hanover College from 1996-99. “If you’re successful in those areas, other things will take care of themselves. Time of possession in our games is sometimes a factor. Toward the end of the season, I felt we were able to wear teams down. When we started to get the lead, our playbook narrowed a lot.”

Contact this reporter at (937) 328-0351 or djablonski@coxohio.com.

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